1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to marking pens and applicators. Specifically, the invention relates to an advancing pen having multiple cartridges containing liquid or semisolid material. More specifically, the present invention relates to an advancing pen having multiple cartridges, each cartridge bearing a seal to protect the contents from contamination and loss of moisture.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When medical personnel administer an injection to a patient, draw blood, or perform any intravenous procedure, the area of the skin to be pierced must first be cleansed. The antiseptic used is most often isopropyl alcohol, in part due to its rapid drying characteristic. The rapid drying time can also be a drawback however, as isopropyl alcohol is colorless, and therefore invisible when it has dried, leaving the person performing the procedure in some doubt as to the exact location of the cleansed area. A common procedure among some phlebotomists, for example, is to make a mark on the skin with a pen to identify a desired point of entry after the area is cleansed with isopropyl alcohol. While quick and convenient, this procedure is clearly not optimal, as the pen is very likely to be a source of contamination.
The prior art includes several references for devices that enable the user to either mark or cleanse the site of an intended skin puncture. One such reference for a marking device is the “Hypodermic Syringe and a Method for Marking Injections” by Carswell, U.S. Pat. No. 5,192,270, issued Mar. 9, 1993. This reference discloses a cover for the syringe that has a marking pigment installed at the closed end of the cover. One drawback to this device is that the exposed pigment will not only mark the injection site, but also the user's pocket. Further, there is no provision for an antiseptic agent. A reference that discloses an antiseptic means integral to the syringe unit is the “Needle Cover Assembly having Self-Contained Drug Applicator” of Chiappetta, U.S. Pat. No. 5,989,229, issued Nov. 23, 1999. This device utilizes a drug swab contained in a cover for the needle of the syringe.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,551,265, issued to the inventor of the present invention, discloses an advancing antiseptic marking pen having individual cartridges. However, the disclosed marking pen suffers two drawbacks. First, the barrel of the marking pen includes a slotted aperture running the length of the pen barrel in order to accommodate an advancing mechanism. For medical applications, this aperture is undesirable as foreign debris and other contaminants can enter the inside of the marking pen through the aperture. Also, the individual marking cartridges disclosed are not individually sealed, also posing a sanitary risk in medical applications, as well as shortening the useful life of the fluids contained in the individual cartridges as they can prematurely lose moisture.
There is no reference in the prior art that discloses a device that enables the user to both cleanse and to mark the intended site of an injection or other sub-dermal procedure. This means that the medical technician must use more than one instrument for each such procedure.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device suitable for sterile applications that can both apply an antiseptic while simultaneously marking a site on a patient's skin. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device that accomplishes sterile marking. It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a device that is quick and easy to use.